Depression In North America - a Downturn in Mood!

Video Concerning Foods That Affect Moods

Depression is referred to a downturn in mood. This "mood" is usually transitory and is usually caused by something trivial. Depression is another way of term for being sad, feeling blue, discouraged, hopeless or "down in the dumps" Depression is often the result of many factors.

These factors join together to cause feelings of depression or may have the same results when experienced individually. Events in our lives, often some form of loss, are the most likely causes of depression. The loss could be readily apparent like the death of a family member of a friend, or it may be less obvious. Moving away from home for the first time can cause a less obvious feeling of loss.

Domestic problems, financial difficulties, feelings of helplessness in controlling your environment and even a monotonous environment are common causes of a depressed mood. A sad song can bring on a depressed mood. Rainy weather and lack of sunlight are examples of common seasonal causes. The depressed mood can also stem from an internal source.

Lack of self-esteem or a negative view of your life can lead to depression. Hereditary and hormonal factors also contribute to depressed moods. Certain illnesses can encourage depressive behavior. A depressed mood may come at you quickly with no apparent reason, but is likely to leave you just as quickly. Depression lasting for more than two weeks or so severe that it interferes with daily living may indicate a more serious problem and should be discussed with your doctor.


Clinical depression is the leading cause of disability in North America. The World Health Organization
anticipates that by 2020, clinical depressions will be the second leading cause of disability worldwide.
Heart disease is expected to continue being number one.

Interestingly, almost twice as many females as males report or receive treatment for clinical depression.
However, recent history is showing a lessening of this imbalance. This difference seems to disappear after the age of 50-55.

The theoretical causes and risk factors of clinical depression are broadly classified into two categories
Physiological and Sociopsychological.

One common sociopsychological cause is life experiences. This includes job loss, long term
unemployment, rape, divorce and sexual dysfunction. As the instances of these causes increases in North
America, the cases of depression rise as well.

A few of the physiological factors prevalent in North America include dietary, medical conditions and even the quality of sleep.

The increase in depression in industrialized countries is linked to the reduced amounts of omega-3 fatty
acids found in intensively farmed and processed foods.  A deficiency in magnesium levels can cause depression as well as an excess of omega-6 fatty acids.

Certain illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, prominent in North America, may contribute to
depression. Some prescription drugs such as hormonal contraceptives and steroids may also play a roll in causing depression.

In short, give yourself a break and relax because life will drag you through the mud until you take charge and start managing your lifestyle instead of having it managed for you!

Anxiety, Panic and Stress

Anxiety is a physiological state that’s caused by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). SNS is always active at the base level (called sympathetic tone) and becomes more active in stressful situations. The "flight or fight" response occurs from here. Anxiety doesn’t need an outside influence to occur. Anxiety is often based on irrational or illogical fears.

Panic is related to the "fight or flight" mechanism.  It’s a reaction brought on by outside stimulus and is a product of the sympathetic nervous system. Panic in general is a sudden fear that can dominate or replace our thinking. Panic usually occurs in a situation that is perceived to be health or life threatening. Panic is an anxiety state we’re thinking about.

Stress is a psychosocial reaction. It’s influenced by the way a person filters non-threatening external

events. The filtering is based on the person’s assumptions, ideas and expectations. These

assumptions, ideas and expectations can be referred to as social constructionism.

Panic and stress both play important roles in the natural survival instinct. The preparations for fight

Or flight is the body’s defense mechanisms. Preparing for whichever course of action is decided upon to preserve life, health or whatever is in danger.

Anxiety doesn’t always stem from an actual need for fear or defensive action. Escaping situations that make us anxious may bring relief, but these feelings are intensified when we face similar situations. This encourages us to escape the situation again instead of working through the anxiety.

Anxiety or panic attacks are sudden periods of intense anxiety, fear and discomfort. While these attacks might seem to happen for no reason, they’re actually the body’s response to what it perceives as the need for "fight or flight".

The attacks usually last about ten minutes, but can be as short as one minute. In severe cases, these attacks can happen in cycles. These cycles may last for extended periods. These cycles can cause "anticipation" anxiety between episodes.

Physical symptoms of anxiety attacks generally include shortness of breath, heart palpitations and sweating.  Tingling and numbness in the extremities, dizziness, lightheadedness, headaches and nausea are also commonly experienced. These may appear to be random, but they’re actually the result of the body’s preparations for protection.

The anxiety attack is brought on by a sudden onset of fear. In response, the body releases adrenaline Followed by increases in the heart and breathing rate and the production of sweat (to regulate body temperature).

These actions prepare the body for the physical activities of fighting or escaping. Because the anticipated strenuous activity rarely follows the panic attack, these reactions result in physical discomfort.

The increased heart rate is felt as heart palpitations. Rapid breathing (hyperventilation) results in a drop in carbon dioxide levels in the lungs and blood.  This leads to the tingling, numbness, dizziness and lightheadedness. The adrenaline causes a narrowing of the blood vessels which results in less blood flow to the head. This also contributes to the lightheadedness and headaches.

These debilitating episodes are more likely to occur during times of high stress. It’s also common for symptoms of clinical depression to be present in people with anxiety disorders. Treatment includes behavioral therapy, lifestyle changes and medications. Sometimes a combination of all three is needed. Occasionally, a change in lifestyle is all that is needed.

 Mainstream treatment generally consists of a combination of prescription medications and referral to a cognitive behavioral therapist. This treatment method is often met with controversy. Some studies show this combination is more effective than either method alone, while other studies have shown that the majority of patients gain more benefits from the medications and very little of the behavioral treatments.

 The best treatment may depend on the genetics of the individual sufferer as well as environmental factors. Working closely with a counselor, psychiatrist or therapist will aid in determining the best treatment methods.

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Exciting Stress Relieving Activities

Working requires long hours of concentration and complete dedication. You may feel compelled to finish work to achieve the deadline, meet client satisfaction, or attain quota. All these factors can be very stressful, but they are inevitable since they motivate people to strive harder.

Even at home stress is present. Your child may be failing in his or her studies, or you are getting late with your rent or bills. These can be stressful even to think about.

If you cannot prioritize what is important, you may feel stress every single day. Sometimes, you have no choice but to remove yourself from a stressful situation and just break away from everything.

Hobbies You Enjoy The Most

Hobbies and pastimes are very good stress relievers. You can put your mind away from problems through concentrating on things that are enjoyable and fun. There are several activities that you and your friend's can enjoy depending on what suits you best.

If you are into singing, go out with your friends and enjoy, sing-a-long and karaoke bars. Even singing inside your bathroom is not a bad idea. You can enjoy singing almost anywhere as long as you are not bothering anyone.

If you are not into singing, but more into the artistic types, purchasing a sketchpad and a pencil or any art materials you want can help you relieve stress.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to hobbies. Other people like to tinker with things when they feel stressed. Find the things that you like doing the most and use it to keep yourself away from stress. Hobbies do not need long hours of attention and they can be done anywhere and are usually cheap.

Going Outdoors or Indoors

Sports are not only good for stress, but also to your body. They require both physical and mental ability. If you feel that you need to break away from all the problems you have, invite a friend or group of friends to have a friendly outdoor game.

There are many activities that you can engross yourself into. There is basketball, volleyball, badminton and other team sports that can be played.

All of these activities do not require long attention and is a sure way to change your focus. Sweating releases the tension in the body and provides long lasting relief.

There are also many indoor sports that you can try. Table Games only take up a small amount of space and can be played by many. Board games like scrabble, word factory and bridge are also into sports.

The only difference is they require you to use your brain. Keep those brain cells alive by getting your hands on board games.

Take A Break

Long hours of work or monthly monotonous activities will get you stressed. Having a vacation and breaking yourself away from your work is absolutely not a bad idea.

If you think you deserve the break, ask for a vacation leave and go to somewhere there are things not related to your work. A much needed change of scenery can keep you from getting all stressed up.

Vacations offer a lot of things that you can try. There is fishing, kayaking, even rock climbing if you are the extreme type.

But if you are not into serene or quiet hideaways and like bright lights and partying then you can take your vacation to places that includes casino strips or long nights of partying. You can take your vacation anywhere and they can always relieve you of your stress.

Getting anxious over Anxiety Depression?

A lot of people who are exerting too much of their brain power usually exhaust not only their physical strength when engaging in various multi-tasking activities, they also tend to over extend their brains up to the point when it plainly needs some good old time for relaxation. A lot of busy people who seem to cannot fathom the idea of relaxing and taking time of from work, as well as their worries, tend to actually start having nervous breakdowns, anxiety depression and all sorts of mental illnesses that can cause a person's sanity to go haywire, fortunately, if you're one of those poor unfortunate ones who are unable to distress and is constantly worried and fussing over things, there are actually available cures and various treatments for treating anxiety depression.

 Anxiety depression is actually characterized by all sorts of irregularities and erratic behavior from the person who is suffering from it, this is usually due to certain stress triggers that may tend to easily cause a person undue jitters and stress. Also, a lot of people who tend to get easily nervous over stressful activities are actually prone to having anxiety depression, its just a matter of being strong-willed when it comes to facing difficult and stress-prone activities. It may be pretty hard to overcome at first, but trying to be calm and cool in times of extreme pressure is what'll actually save your mental health from going totally downward spiral. When it comes to effectively curing one's self from a mental illness, one must keep in mind that you have to be actually honest with yourself and assess what kind of depression or mental illness, you actually have, go to reputable psychiatrist to get yourself diagnosed correctly as well as be able to get the right depression treatment for yourself.

Here are the various types of depression: Manic or Bipolar depression - characterized by sudden and extreme changes in one's mood wherein one minute he or she is in an elevated state of euphoria while the next minute (day or week) he or she is feeling to be in a personal hell. Postpartum depression - characterized by a prolonged sadness and a feeling of emptiness by a new mother wherein physical stress during child birth, an uncertain sense of responsibility towards the new born baby can be just some of the possible factors why some new mother go through this. Dysthimia - characterized by a slight similarity with depression, although this time, it's been proven to be a lot less severe, but of course with any case, should be treated immediately.

Cyclothemia - characterized by a slight similarity with Manic or Bipolar depression wherein the individual suffering from this mental illness may occasionally suffer from severe changes in one's moods. Seasonal Affective Disorder - characterized by falling in a rut only during specific seasons (i.e. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall) studies, however, prove that more people actually fall in to a rut more during the Winter and Fall seasons and lastly, Mood swings, wherein a person's mood may shift from happy to sad to angry in just a short time. But the type of depression that has actually been proven to be quite common among people is anxiety depression, which is actually characterized by the state of being overly anxious about things. Anxiety, a supposedly normal behavior that'll actually help a person adjust more to a certain stressful activity like first date jitters or a grueling exam the following day.

Anxiety actually helps you get psyched up towards facing certain "difficult situations"; anxiety therefore is actually a good thing. Anxiety, depression however, is simply the opposite, not to be easily dismissed as a "case of the nerves"; Anxiety depression is in actuality an illness that can be caused from the biological makeup of an individual, or in other words, a hereditary illness. Also, there are actually various types of Anxiety depression, each having its own unique characteristics. Take for example Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD, this kind of Anxiety depression is a lot more complicated than the average Anxiety, depression, in spite of possibly being a day-to-day habit for those who suffer this kind of Anxiety depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder actually makes the individual quite more paranoid than usual, anxiety attacks are more frequent, even absurd at times.

They can even be anxious even when there's no apparent reason that calls for them to behave in such a way. People suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder actually show a lot of symptoms, from lack of sleep, to being unable to relax, getting tired easily, cannot concentrate on what they're doing and even suffering from depression. This kind of Anxiety depression is still curable; just a little work will actually do the trick. Consult a reputable cognitive behavior therapist who'll help give the individual the therapy that he or she needs to help him or her loosen up, also prescribed medicines are sort of a must to help these individuals battle anxiety attacks, help them calm down and relax.

A lot of people who are exerting too much of their brain power usually exhaust not only their physical strength when engaging in various multi-tasking activities, they also tend to over extend their brains up to the point when it plainly needs some good old time for relaxation. A lot of busy people who seem to cannot fathom the idea of relaxing and taking time of from work, as well as their worries, tend to actually start having nervous breakdowns, anxiety depression and all sorts of mental illnesses that can cause a person's sanity to go haywire, fortunately, if you're one of those poor unfortunate ones who are unable to distress and is constantly worried and fussing over things, there are actually available cures and various treatments for treating anxiety depression.

Anxiety depression is actually characterized by all sorts of irregularities and erratic behavior from the person who is suffering from it, this is usually due to certain stress triggers that may tend to easily cause a person undue jitters and stress. Also, a lot of people who tend to get easily nervous over stressful activities are actually prone to having anxiety depression, its just a matter of being strong-willed when it comes to facing difficult and stress-prone activities. It may be pretty hard to overcome at first, but trying to be calm and cool in times of extreme pressure is what'll actually save your mental health from going totally downward spiral.

When it comes to effectively curing one's self from a mental illness, one must keep in mind that you have to be actually honest with yourself and assess what kind of depression or mental illness, you actually have, go to reputable psychiatrist to get yourself diagnosed correctly as well as be able to get the right depression treatment for yourself. Here are the various types of depression:

Manic or Bipolar depression - characterized by sudden and extreme changes in one's mood wherein one minute he or she is in an elevated state of euphoria while the
next minute (day or week) he or she is feeling to be in a personal hell.

Postpartum depression - characterized by a prolonged sadness and a feeling of emptiness by a new mother wherein physical stress during child birth, an uncertain sense of responsibility towards the new born baby can be just some of the possible factors why some new mother go through this.

Dysthimia - characterized by a slight similarity with depression, although this time, it's been proven to be a lot less severe, but of course with any case, should be treated immediately.

Cyclothemia - characterized by a slight similarity with Manic or Bipolar depression wherein the individual suffering from this mental illness may occasionally suffer from severe changes in one's moods.

Seasonal Affective Disorder - characterized by falling in a rut only during specific seasons (i.e. Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall) studies, however, prove that more people
actually fall in to a rut more during the Winter and Fall seasons and lastly, Mood swings, wherein a person's mood may shift from happy to sad to angry in just a short time.

But the type of depression that has actually been proven to be quite common among people is anxiety depression, which is actually characterized by the state of being overly anxious about things. Anxiety, a supposedly normal behavior that'll actually help a person adjust more to a certain stressful activity like first date jitters or a grueling exam the following day. Anxiety actually helps you get psyched up towards facing certain "difficult situations"; anxiety therefore is actually a good thing. Anxiety, depression however, is simply the opposite, not to be easily dismissed as a "case of the nerves"; Anxiety depression is in actuality an illness that can be caused from the biological makeup of an individual, or in other words, a hereditary illness.

Also, there are actually various types of Anxiety depression, each having its own unique characteristics. Take for example Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD, this kind of Anxiety depression is a lot more complicated than the average Anxiety, depression, in spite of possibly being a day-to-day habit for those who suffer this kind of Anxiety depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder actually makes the individual quite more paranoid than usual, anxiety attacks are more frequent, even absurd at times. They can even be anxious even when there's no apparent reason that calls for them to behave in such a way. People suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder actually show a lot of symptoms, from lack of sleep, to being unable to relax, getting tired easily, cannot concentrate on what they're doing and even suffering from depression.  This kind of Anxiety depression has been still curable; just a little work will actually do the trick.

Consult a reputable cognitive behavior therapist who'll help give the individual the therapy that he or she needs to help him or her loosen up, also prescribed medicines are sort of a must to help these individuals battle anxiety attacks, help them calm down and relax.

Various Types of Depression Treatments

Depression treatments vary but there are two primary methods. These treatments, generally used together are medication and psychotherapy.

Recent studies now indicate changes in lifestyles can have beneficial effects. These changes can be as simple as exercising regularly and taking dietary supplements.

Generally, one particular medication or combination of medications can produce significant results. But occasionally, good responses are harder to achieve.

When depression is resistant to medical treatment, more thorough assessment is needed. This may lead to psychotherapy, focusing on lifestyle changes and changes or increases in medication.

In emergency cases, hospitalization may be needed. If a patient is determined to be dangerous to themselves or to others, hospitalization is needed until they are responding to treatment and no longer present any danger.

A less drastic alternative treatment program is partial hospitalization. This is where the patient spends most of the day in a psychiatric hospital setting, but spends the night at home.

Intensive treatment typically includes group therapy, individual therapy and medication management. This method is often used with children and adolescents.

Group therapy offers peer support and the knowledge that they’re not alone, that others experience similar problems and feelings.

After recovery, evidence shows that continual usage of antidepressant medication can reduce the chances of a relapse, possibly by as much as half. This most likely lasts for at least the first three years.

Some evidence suggests prolong use of these medications may have adverse physical effects. The exact reasons for this are unknown.

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Is depression a state of mind?

Is a mood an excuse used to avoid personal
interactions? Or maybe it’s an attempt to elicit
sympathy? Or is it an actual disease?

Actually, it can be all of those things. Clinical
depression is a major depressive disorder affecting
about 7-18% of the population of some in their lives.

But for most people, when they say they’re depressed,
they’re referring to the depressed mood. This
depression rarely lasts long. It comes and goes and is
usually brought on by a number of different things.

Depression affects people in different ways. Some
people prefer to be alone. They cut themselves off
from friends and family in an attempt to work there
way through the mood in their own time.

Others throw themselves into social activities,
preferring to ignore it until it goes away. Still
others tend to dwell on it and try to draw the people
around them in a similar state of depression,
embracing the philosophy that "misery loves company".

There are also the people that seem to live in a state
of constant depression. For some of these people, the
diagnosis is functional depression and treatment would
be advised. But for others, it’s more of a continual
mood.

Some people just seem to enjoy being unhappy. There
negative outlook of themselves, those around them and
life in general keeps them in this continual
depression. On occasion it is an attempt to get
sympathy, but for some people, it’s just the way they
are.